Yeah your Mighty Marvel Western #1 is a pretty one... and to chime in I agree the Spectacular Spider-Man #1 is way undervalued compared to the census out there (and compared to its scarcity). I think the format (magazine size) keeps its value down since its not a true "comic book"

These days for my points challenge Im having a heck of a time finding any good points targets. X-Men books have heated up in the last 3-4 months and the books I bought at a 10:1 ratio last year are back down to the 5 or 6:1 ratio. So its about keeping an eye out for deals at this point. Im back in search mode trying to find more of those diamonds. Im just hitting the tip of the iceberg in the Harvey world where there are cheap 9.4 and 9.6s to be found out there with decent point returns... but again all it takes is one other buyer to drive the price up to the point where the point return is back to 5:1...

I've been keeping any eye out for a cheap Daredevil #181 in CGC 9.6 since its 250 points and relative availability in the market (leading to some cheap prices since it only had a GPA of $40 for the last 12 mo) So I crossed my fingers for a sale here on the boards.

And hit!

Bought it here on the boards for $35 shipped (shipped for $16 based on the postage) but we'll call it an even $20 since I'm bad at math.

Wile its just OW/W, it is a very nice old label 9.6 that has the full Marvel label in the upper left corner, though it does cut off the "L" in Devil on the right edge. Does all that even fit on the page? I'd imagine a cover with the full L in Devil has to cut into the label on the left...

Didnt get it (just couldnt get myself to pull the trigger) but some of these 9.4 & 9.6 Wheatie Premiums seem to go cheap (since they arent 'comic books') and have a good point ratio since they are both scarce and old (though that doesnt always guarentee points)

$13.99 got 150 points and a cute Little Red Wolf premium... Only 6 in census so they arent frequently found and or slabbed...A 9.8 went for good money ($120ish) but once you get to 9.6s and 9.4s the prices drop. Something to keep on the radar maybe.

I like that this exercise is making me learn about things other than the books I normally collect. I appreciate the totality of the comics medium and enjoy seeing what space it has occupied thru its various incarnations whether it be traditional capes, cartoons, or food related premiums, its all an interesting journey to me and more entertaining than just trying to be the 28th guy to have a full run of Claremont X-men (though to each his own!)

As you can see only 1 of the 3 exceeded the 10:1 ratio, but i thought it was interesting. Some high grade Gold Key books are still affordable (in some cases) but have a good point return (as always collect what you love, love what you collect). In all 1600 points for $175 (9.14:1 ratio)

Another Forgot to put a bid in and this puppy, which I also wanted to add to my Bronze #1s set went cheap and well pas the 10:1 ratio

A copy of Spirit Magazine (Warren) in a very nice 9.6 grade (though CR-OW) bought off ebay for $18 and some change. The book had been out there with a BIN of $40 for a while tempting me, at 275 points I thought I could talk the dealer down a bit (it was a constant relist week after week with no bites). But before I got around to pulling the trigger on making a non-ebay offer he moved it to auction with a $1 start and the game was on! The book got some bidding (4 different bidders) but in the end I prevailed and won the book for less than 1/2 of the dealers old BIN ammount.

The great thing about this series (IMHO) is the beautifuly painted color covers by Eisner. So many just have amazing composition, and make for great display in their CGC cases.

There are a few nice condition copies of these Spirit Magazine on ebay, but this was the only CGCed one for many many months... Its not a widely collected book (as far as the registry goes it only has 7 sets listed). There are 12 graded copies of this particular issue, with only 1 in 9.8, and only 2 in my grade of 9.6 so I can say I have the "second highest graded" copy of the book... In try to assess the book I also looked at the number of #1 copies that have been graded (if any copy might get the CGC treatment, it'd be the #1 issue, true?) and there we have 21 copies. It appears that the Warren era reprints have a better following that the slightly later Kitchen Sink reprints, but those show up in much smaller number on the census, and there is only one in the registry, and only one set listed.

This book straddles the comics/magazine hobby since its subject matter is comic (Will Eisner's The Spirit) who has had a great life in the comic book medium, but this production is in magazine format so it could appeal to the magazine collectors as well, though it doesnt fit into the various magazine sub-genres very well (mostly Sci-Fi or Horror, though it could have some appeal to the Crime/Pulp collector).

In my research I stumbed across this nugget:

In 1976, an oddity called "The Spirit Casebook of True Haunted Houses and Ghosts" was published.

which triggered a HUGE memory for me... I remembered reading something like this as a kid when I was into haunted house and ghost stories, especially they "true" ones!

I may have to go snag one of these just for the trip down memory lane.